


Clarke

by rebeccadewing



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 09:47:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20851436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebeccadewing/pseuds/rebeccadewing
Summary: What if Ellie had a sister?





	Clarke

The Last Of Us 

What if Ellie had a sister? 

Clarke woke up alone. This was the first time in a long time that happened. There wasn’t a bundle of red hair nestled next to her like there usually was. Rumpled bed sheets and ration crumbs were all that was left. Clarke’s sisterly instincts took over and she reached for her gun. Ellie’s backpack was gone and so was her knife that was normally under her pillow. That confirmed her suspicion that Ellie had left. Willingly or not it didn’t matter to Clarke. She needed to find her sister. Clarke had been six when the outbreak happened and Ellie’s mother and Clarke were the only survivors. Ellie was technically her half sister, but she loved her just the same.

Although Clarke was only twenty six she felt eons older. The quarantine zone had aged her greatly. As Clarke scrambled to get ready to set off after Ellie she heard a commotion in the room next door. Marlene sounded hurt and Ellie was yelling. Clarke zipped up her cargo jeans and forgot to put on a shirt over her sports bra and busted down the door. There were two strangers and Marlene and Ellie all crammed in the small room. The man and woman seemed shocked at her entrance. Marlene interfered when Clarke cocked her shotgun. 

“Clarke don’t shoot, these are friendlies” 

“I’m not so sure” said Ellie.

Clarke knew not to second guess Marlene so she put the gun down. The man introduced himself as Joel and the woman as Tess. Marlene explained they were smuggling Ellie out of the city, but not you. 

“The fuck Marlene? We are a package deal, you know that!” 

“I promised them one person to smuggle, not two” 

“Well we don’t mind” said Tess 

“Tess” Joel said with a warningly low voice 

“We’ll take her to” stated Tess.

Clarke felt the sudden need to go back to sleep. She hadn’t forgotten how Joel was so adamant that she didn’t go. She wanted to prove herself to them. It broke her to know that Marlene wasn’t coming. It was then that she processed she’d been shot. 

Clarke had always been gifted with medicine so she started to patch Marlene up while Joel and Tess negotiated the deal. Clarke didn’t have the heart to tell them that the guns weren’t anywhere near. She needed Ellie out of the city where it was safer. Clarke was oblivious to Marlene’s true intentions. 

Once Marlene was lying down and resting comfortably, Clarke said she was ready to go. She had hastily packed her bag with another outfit, her weapons, and her journal. She also packed a photo of Ellie as a baby. 

Clarke wore her boots, cargo pants, and a lacy tank top with her signature brown leather jacket. She pretended to not see the way Joel had a hard time not looking at her for too long. She braided her hair messily as she Tess Joel and Ellie bounded down the stairs into a courtyard. 

Tess took off to go see the supposed guns. Clarke knew that Marlene would only be showing what they still had and say Robert had sold the rest. Clarke had no reason to tell Joel and Tess the truth. 

As Joel, Ellie, and Clarke made their way to the safe house they encountered three soldiers. The first two Joel took out and the third Clarke slit his throat. Joel seemed mildly impressed by Clarke’s quiet strength. 

The moment they entered the safehouse Joel lay down on the couch with a grunt. Ellie took the remaining chair so Clarke stood in the corner before eventually sitting on the floor. Joel fell asleep almost instantly and Clarke slowly nodded off as well. When Clarke woke up she heard voices mentioning her so she didn’t open her eyes. She felt guilty for spying but it could be useful information. Turns out it was just Joel and Ellie talking about her. 

“She your sister?” 

“Yeah she is” 

“She remember the old world?”

“She was young, but can still tell me stories” 

“Hmph” 

“Your watch is broken”

“I know”

“You don’t talk much do you” 

“Ellie leave Joel alone” Clarke interrupts 

Clarke knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end of an interrogation. Joel shoots her a grateful look. As quickly as it came, it’s gone. Tess makes her entrance at the moment when Clarke realizes it’s raining. It adds tension to the whole situation. 

Clarke isn’t oblivious to the tension between Tess and Joel. There is clearly something there. Ellie however, is clueless. 

“So are you guys married?” 

“Tess and I are friends”

“With benefits” added Tess 

Clarke pulled Ellie aside at that point and told her to quit it. Joel once again appeared grateful. 

They made their way out of the building and across the street. The capitol building was far in the distance, it would take them all night to get there. 

The first building they encountered was swarmed with infected. Clarke didn’t have to step in once because Joel and Tess has a rhythm established. Clarke didn’t know why but she felt jealous at their closeness. She’d never had that with anyone, well maybe Ellie. 

Ellie and Clarke had been drifting apart since she’d been bitten. Clarke didn’t want Marlene to know, but Ellie trusted her enough to inform her. 

Clarke didn’t think that Ellie being infected was going to be a problem. The second the guards captured them Clarke knew she was screwed. She was even more screwed when Ellie drove her knife into the mans kneecap. 

Joel gut reaction to the scanner was to point his gun at Ellie. Clarke leapt forward to plant herself between Joel’s gun and Ellie. Clarke was too busy pleading and trying to convince them the scanner was wrong to notice that Ellie had rolled up her sleeve. 

Fuck. Ellie had completely jeopardized the mission. Joel and Tess suddenly had more incentive to shoot Ellie than ever. Before anyone could make a decision the tank showed up. 

In the scuffle they had forgotten that the woman had radioed for backup. After navigating through the dark and rain they were able to hide in the subway. That’s when the clickers came. Clarke had heard about them from Marlene but hearing and seeing them was a whole different thing. They were fucking terrifying. But for some reason having Joel there made her less worried.

When they finally made it to the capitol building it was dawn. Clarke’s heart fell into her stomach when she saw the dead fireflies. Tess’s worry made Clarke suspicious. It was when she saw the panic on Tess’s face that she knew she’d been bitten. 

“She’s infected” said Ellie 

“No no no” said Joel 

Tess responded by popping the collar of her shirt. The bite stood out red and purple and angry. Joel and Tess were arguing when Clarke heard the soldiers. Tess stayed behind to buy them some time. Clarke noticed the pained look on Joel’s face when they heard Tess’s screams. Dying sounded painful. 

It took them a while to finally escape the soldiers. When Ellie attempted to apologize about Tess Clarke knew it would make Joel mad. And it did. 

Clarke wanted to know what Joel was going to do with them. Apparently his brother Tommy was a firefly and would know what to do. But first they were supposed to find Joel’s friend Bill who would know where to get a car. 

So the journey began. With Clarke, Ellie, and Joel all mourning Tess while trying their best to survive. 

They found Bill’s town the next day. Clarke was impressed by Bill’s traps. They were the work of a madman and Clarke was a sucker for the weirdos. When Joel was caught in the snare Clarke was worried sick. This worrying intensified when she saw the infected coming. The bang from the fridge had called them to their location. S Ellie worked on cutting the rope, Clarke was helping Joel pick off the infected. Once Ellie was finally able to saw off the rope Joel fell to the ground with a thud. An infected came barreling out of nowhere and tackled Joel. If it hadn’t been for the machete that came out of nowhere Joel would have probably been bitten. 

When the man in the mask told them to run Clarke did. This was a very close call. After the man was introduced to them as Bill they made their way to the church. Once they had geared up, Joel finally gave Clarke a gun, much to Ellie’s dismay. So Clarke gave her another knife to use. Joel grunted in response to this action. 

When they encountered the bloater, Joel had put a hand on the small of Clarke’s back. It’s warmth was comforting. It almost distracted her from the task at hand. 

After enough Molotov cocktails and shotgun blasts the bloater lay burnt in pieces on the ground. When Joel pulled her up on the bleachers, it felt strangely intimate. Once they had found the car and dropped off Bill, Clarke fell asleep in the front seat. She woke up to Joel’s laughter and Ellie chucking a magazine out the window. She sat up quickly from resting her head against the window. Her braid was falling apart from being in place for too long.

She fell back asleep to Joel and Ellie talking about music. 

She woke up upside down.


End file.
